Weighing-In On Low Carb Diets
With all of the conflicting studies and fuzzy interpretation of information, it’s no wonder that confusion reigns when it comes to the value and safety of low-carb diets. It seems like heated debates are raging everywhere! Whether it’s Atkins, the South Beach or some other low-carb plan, as many as 30 million Americans are following a low-carb diet.
Advocates contend that the high amount of carbohydrates in our diet has led to increasing problems with obesity, diabetes, and other health problems. Critics, on the other hand, attribute obesity and related health problems to over-consumption of calories from any source, and lack of physical activity. Critics also express concern that the lack of grains, fruits, and vegetables in low-carbohydrate diets may lead to deficiencies of some key nutrients, including fiber, vitamin C, folic acid, and several minerals.
Any diet, weather low or high in carbohydrate, can produce significant weight loss during the initial stages of the diet. But remember, the key to successful dieting is in being able to lose the weight permanently. Put another way, what does the scale show a year after going off the diet? Let’s see if we can debunk some of the mystery about low-carb diets. Below, is a listing of some relevant points taken from recent studies and scientific literature. Please note there may be insufficient information available to answer all questions.
– Differences Between Low-Carb Diets
There are many popular diets designed to lower carbohydrate consumption. Reducing total carbohydrate in the diet means that protein and fat will represent a proportionately greater amount of the total caloric intake. Atkins and Protein Power diets restrict carbohydrate to a point where the body becomes ketogenic. Other low-carb diets like the Zone and Life Without Bread are less restrictive. Some, like Sugar Busters claim to eliminate only sugars and foods that elevate blood sugar levels excessively.
– What We Know about Low-Carb Diets
Almost all of the studies to date have been small with a wide variety of research objectives. Carbohydrate, caloric intake, diet duration and participant characteristics varied greatly. Most of the studies to date have two things in common: None of the studies had participants with a mean age over 53 and none of the controlled studies lasted longer than 90 days.
Information on older adults and long-term results are scarce.
Many diet studies fail to monitor the amount of exercise, and therefore caloric expenditure, while participants are dieting. This helps to explain discrepancies between studies. The weight loss on low-carb diets is a function of caloric restriction and diet duration, and not with reduced carbohydrate intake. This finding suggests that if you want to lose weight, you should eat fewer calories and do so over a long time period.
Little evidence exists on the long-range safety of low-carb diets. Despite the medical community concerns, no short-term adverse effects have been found on cholesterol, glucose, insulin and blood-pressure levels among participants on the diets. But, adverse effects may not show up because of the short period of the studies.
Researchers note that losing weight typically leads to an improvement in these levels anyway, and this may offset an increase caused by a high fat diet. The long range weight change for low-carb and other types of diets is similar.Most low-carb diets cause ketosis. Some of the potential consequences are nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and confusion. During the initial phase of low-carb dieting some fatigue and constipation may be encountered. Generally, these symptoms dissipate quickly. Ketosis may also give the breath a fruity odor, somewhat like nail-polish remover (acetone).
Low-carb diets do not enable the consumption of more calories than other kinds of diets, as has been often reported. A calorie is a calorie and it doesn’t matter weather they come from carbohydrates or fat. Study discrepancies are likely the result of uncontrolled circumstances; i.e. diet participants that cheat on calorie consumption, calories burned during exercise, or any number of other factors. The drop-out rate for strict (i.e. less than 40 grams of CHO/day) low-carb diets is relatively high.
What Should You Do? – There are 3 important points I would like to re-emphasize:
– The long-range success rate for low-carb and other types of diets is similar.
– Despite their popularity, little information exists on the long-term efficacy and safety of low-carbohydrate diets.
– Strict low-carb diets are usually not sustainable as a normal way of eating.
Boredom usually overcomes willpower.
It is obvious after reviewing the topic, that more, well-designed and controlled studies are needed. There just isn’t a lot of good information available, especially concerning long-range effects. Strict low-carb diets produce ketosis which is an abnormal and potentially stressful metabolic state. Under some circumstances this might cause health related complications.
The diet you choose should be a blueprint for a lifetime of better eating, not just a quick weight loss plan to reach your weight goal. If you can’t see yourself eating the prescribed foods longer than a few days or a week, then chances are it’s not the right diet. To this end, following a moderately low fat diet with a healthy balance of fat, protein, carbohydrate and other nutrients is beneficial.
If you do decide to follow a low-carb plan, remember that certain dietary fats are associated with reduction of disease. Foods high in unsaturated fats that are free of trans-fatty acids such as olive oil, fish, flaxseeds, and nuts are preferred to fats from animal origins.
Even promoters of the Atkins diet now say people on their plan should limit the amount of red meat and saturated fat they eat. Atkins representatives are telling health professionals that only 20 percent of a dieter’s calories should come from saturated fat (i.e. meat, cheese, butter). This change comes as Atkins faces competition from other popular low-carb diets that call for less saturated fat, such as the South Beach diet plan. Low-carb dieting should not be considered as a license to gorge on red meat!
Another alternative to “strict” low-carb dieting would be to give up some of the bad carbohydrate foods but not “throw out the baby with the bath water”. In other words, foods high in processed sugar, snacks, and white bread would be avoided, but foods high in complex carbohydrates such as fruit, potatoes and whole grains, retained.
Tim Robinson is the owner of Weight-Loss-Diet-Search.com
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The Papaya Diet: A Guaranteed Loser
Search Yahoo for “papaya” and “kirstie” and you’ll find at least a hundred sites that claim papaya is single-handedly responsible for melting literally dozens of pounds off the body of a popular actress.
I can recall, from my own quality-time spent in line at the grocery store, virtually every food known to man being touted as the key ingredient in a new “miracle diet.” Grapefruit, broccoli, cabbage and even chocolate have been “scientifically proven” by a panel of seven-year-olds to “literally melt away the pounds” before your very eyes.
But what about the papaya? Is it the key ingredient, the silver bullet, the big kahuna and the magic potion all wrapped up in a low fat, gluten-free tortilla?
Searching the web for “papaya” and “diet” turns up some interesting results. Clicking from site to site one finds nearly identical copy on each site, as though there is one main “mother lode” of papaya information from which all papaya data flows.
A cursory scan of the available data shows that papaya is a great food that offers a good amount of benefit in a relatively small package. There are two varieties of papaya, one typically comes from Mexico and the other from Hawaii. The Mexican variety can grow to be rather large and the taste is more subtle than it’s Hawaiian cousin, but otherwise they are very similar and available year-around at most grocery stores or produce shops.
Papaya are high in Vitamin C, a good source of fiber, and probably best known for the enzyme papain, which is used commercially as a meat tenderizer. The more educational sites report that the enzyme (papain) helps the body to break down protein, which explains its use as a meat tenderizer.
As you move from the academic to the commercial sites, papain seems to evolve into “Super Enzyme” capable of not only breaking down protein, but also increasing your metabolism, digesting fats, assimilating carbohydrates, and even repainting your house while you sleep. Now that’s SUPER!
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing against the papaya. In fact, I’ve been told I resemble one. It’s just that if there were a “magic potion” that solved all of our health problems then there wouldn’t be any overweight people and I wouldn’t be writing this.
With that said, I have come up with a diet that is guaranteed to help ANYONE lose weight, and I’m calling my new diet “The Papaya Diet.” Remember, when you read about this one as you wait your turn in line at the grocery store, you heard it from me first.
Follow the simple steps below and the pounds will begin to (slowly) melt away.
Step 1: Go to the grocery store and buy a nice papaya, about one pound in weight. Make sure that the papaya is not too ripe. When traveling to the store, it is preferable that you walk, as you’ll burn calories and fire up your metabolism. If not possible, park far from the store and walk across the parking lot.
Step 2: Bring your papaya home and keep it with you at all times. The key to this fantastic diet is keeping the papaya healthy and happy. Be sure your papaya gets plenty of sleep. Seven and a half hours each day is recommended. Keep your papaya hydrated. It should drink a gallon of water each day. Since your papaya doesn’t have a mouth, you’ll need to drink the water yourself. You’ll also have to eat for the papaya. When eating your papaya’s meals, keep your portions small and choose only healthy foods with a good mix of fruits and vegetables. It’s okay, the papaya will not be upset by this. Eat your food slowly and stop eating at the first sign of being full. Your papaya will become very agitated if you overeat. Skip desserts, as your papaya is most effective when you do not eat dessert.
Step 3: Be certain your papaya gets plenty of fresh air and exercise. The simplest and easiest way to accomplish this task is to set aside time to walk your papaya each day. Your papaya can be held in your bare hand or kept in a backpack/napsack. Purchase a pedometer and set a goal of carrying your papaya at least 10,000 steps each day. Doing so will almost ensure the success of the Papaya Diet.
Step 4: Eat the papaya and return to Step 1.
Most people think that the beauty of the Papaya Diet is its simplicity. I agree, and would add to that its accessibility. Those who can walk, shop and eat can participate in the Papaya Diet and will soon be the envy of their friends and family.
You don’t like papaya, you say? Well, you might be interested in learning about my new “Watermelon Diet”…
Michael Callen is the author of the Weekly Weightloss Tips Newsletter and the Chief Technology Officer for Wellness Partners, an online retailer of dozens of health and wellness products.
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